TAIPEI, Taiwan — Chinese President Xi Jinping said late Wednesday in a New Year’s address in Beijing that China’s “reunification” with Taiwan cannot be stopped after the People’s Liberation Army concluded its biggest and closest drills yet around the island. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te urged a rapid boost in defense spending as the United States moved ahead with a record $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, Jan. 1, 2026.
Xi Jinping ties “reunification” pledge to pressure campaign
In the two-day operation China called “Justice Mission 2025,” the PLA fired dozens of rockets and deployed large numbers of warships and aircraft, forcing Taiwan to cancel dozens of domestic flights and dispatch jets and ships to monitor the activity, Reuters reported. China’s military said the drills were aimed at deterring outside intervention.
Xi Jinping’s message framed Beijing’s goal as inevitable. “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable,” he said, according to The Guardian’s account of his New Year’s Eve speech. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force, while Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
The U.S. State Department has started the congressional notification process for a proposed $11.1 billion package that includes HIMARS rocket systems, howitzers, Javelin anti-tank missiles and Altius loitering-munition drones, according to Reuters. China’s foreign ministry condemned the plan, while Taiwan’s presidential office thanked Washington and said it would “safeguard peace through strength.” Washington maintains official ties with Beijing but remains Taiwan’s key arms supplier, a policy that repeatedly triggers Chinese protests.
In his New Year address, Lai said the “international community is watching” to see whether the island has the resolve to defend itself and urged lawmakers to unlock a proposed $40 billion, multiyear defense boost, The Associated Press reported. He said Taiwan is willing to engage Beijing only on an “equal and dignified” basis and urged opposition parties that control the legislature to set aside political deadlock on security spending.
How the Xi Jinping era standoff got here
Xi Jinping’s vow continues a pattern of sharpened rhetoric paired with expanding military pressure. In a 2019 address marking the 40th anniversary of China’s “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan,” Xi said Beijing would not renounce the use of force and promoted “one country, two systems” as a framework for Taiwan, Reuters reported at the time.
Major drills have followed political flashpoints. After then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in Aug. 2022, China fired missiles and staged what Reuters described as its biggest drills in the strait in decades, prompting regional alarms. In May 2024, Beijing launched “Joint Sword-2024A” drills days after Lai took office, calling the operation “punishment” for what it labeled separatist acts, Reuters reported.
For Taiwan, the next test is whether lawmakers approve more spending and how quickly new systems can be fielded. For Xi Jinping, the message and the drills underscore Beijing’s insistence that time is on its side. For the region, the risk is that repeated exercises and countermoves increase the chance of miscalculation.
